We love your neoprene leggings and bralettes. When did you start working with that fabric?
I started working with neoprene Summer 2. I've wanted to make wetsuits for a long time, because girls' wetsuits are pretty limited. I love surfing, but I've always felt like I wasn't a part of surf culture and I think I'm not alone in saying that. So I wanted to make girls wetsuits that are nice looking. Right now, the response has been kind of slow, but I hope it gets better because I want to keep doing it. I also make laser-cut neoprene swimsuits coming out soon.
How long have you been surfing?
I started surfing when I was 12 or 13. I just started surfing with my friends. Then in high school, I became friends with this girl from Australia, and her brother was going pro, so we went to Australia for a month on this crazy surf trip. We drove around in a Winnebago and went surfing every day.
That was when I sort of knew that surfing was something I wanted to do forever. When I was in New York, I didn't surf a lot when I first got there, because I thought people didn't surf out there, then I realized that they did. But it's so cold! So I would surf from May to October, and then stop. Each year, I would surf more and more, and then I started getting boards made and working with a shaper out in California. So I just started thinking, if I'm surfing a lot, and I'm interested in this stuff, then I should move to the West Coast and try it out.
What do you love most about surfing?
I like being in the water, no cell phones, no computers, no talking. It's a simple thing. You sit in the water, you paddle for a wave, you get on it and it's really fun. It's like way cheaper than therapy.
I LOVE SURFING, BUT I'VE ALWAYS FELT LIKE I WASN'T A PART OF SURF CULTURE AND I THINK I'M NOT ALONE IN SAYING THAT.